In 1988, I worked as a graphic artist for Hanlon Brown Design. Things were a lot different 28 years ago. First of all, there were 4 employees, not 18 as currently employed full-time. Paste-up work was still a reality, copy was sent out for typesetting, and Lettraset rub down letters were common for smaller jobs. Computer design was beginning to blossom with PageMaker used for layouts and Freehand for illustration work. One thing hasn’t changed and that’s the tireless leadership and dedication of Noma Hanlon, the agency President and Founder.

As a nationally certified, diversity-owned company, HB Design is able to build relationships with leading corporations, generate prospective business and clients, and collectively team with other diversity certified business for contracting opportunities. As corporate America becomes more inclusive and further diversifies its supply chain, certification offers the opportunity for businesses that qualify to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Being a diverse company alone, however, does not guarantee work. Great projects are earned by delivering an excellent product and service. But being certified does add to our company’s persona and is of interest to large corporations seeking to diversify their supply chain. Diversity and inclusion are recognized as vital components to the growth and development of the global economy. Today, many Fortune 500 companies have formal policies that encourage partnering with diversity-certified business owners, whether they are minorities, women, veterans of the armed forces or members of the LGBT community.

Diverse people offer diverse thinking—an essential ingredient for creative thinking. As a certified woman-owned business by WBENC, and as a certified LGBT-owned company by the NGLCC, our clients rely on our unique perspective and ability to unravel their business challenges with solutions that speak to a diverse world.

Recently HB Design was featured in this video that showcases our work, our way of thinking, and how our certification as a diverse supplier is of value.

Development tools for responsive web design are getting better all the time. Unfortunately they are not always obvious. Recently one of my co-workers showed me how Google Chrome has a great tool for showing how a web page responds to changing view port sizes. Well I personally prefer developing in Firefox, so I went looking for a plug in that does the same,

This is the last poster of our series.

Background

The 1980s. As a designer, I’ve had fun with fashion, especially during the 80s while I was in my 20s and studying design in Cincinnati. Fashion was my most expressive and obvious form of creativity. I wore my pointy NaNa shoes, cut off leggings with short, painted and dyed skirts, torn boy jeans with men’s vintage suit jackets, big BIG earrings and bright red lipstick with enthusiastic verve. In the 80s fashion was fun, expressive and creative, and I have fond memories of my style from that time. So to add a bit of “me” to my poster, I chose to focus on 1980s fashion.

Background

The 70s… a period of time that most people associate with “interesting” color palettes, disco, feathered hair, and a departure from the settled times of the past. Being a designer born in the beginning of the 1970s, 1972 specifically, I grew up not really aware of much of the time period. Though there are cliche reminders of the 70s, I thought it would be interesting to focus on what was real at the time and how it was remembered by those who focus on details.

Background

I’ve always had an itch for going against the grain and speaking up for what I believe in. The 1960s time period spoke to me because I think back then, there was an air of taking controversial issues head on. It was a time of counterculture and free expression. I think the graphics and colors used in my poster reflect these elements of the time.

Background

I have a love of jazz and Blue Note Records album cover artwork. The 1950s were the heyday for jazz and Blue Note Records; and the graphic design of their album covers always had a certain look that embodied the spirit of jazz.

Background

As a child, the first things to make me aware of design were the monster magazines that were enjoying the end of their heyday. The boldly painted covers and wildly creative typography drew my eye and inspired me to start drawing my own letterforms.